The GP recruitment crisis reflects pressure on junior doctors and would be exacerbated by contract changes the government hopes to implement, a top GP warned as strike action began on Tuesday. Watch a short video interview below.

Tower Hamlets, London GP Dr Anna Livingstone told GPonline that as a junior doctor herself she was forced to work 120 hours a week, leaving her with no time or energy to see family or friends and putting patient safety at risk. Changes to the junior doctor contract risked increasing pressure to return to long hours, she warned, and must not be allowed to go ahead.

Video: junior doctor strikes

Dr Livingstone warned that the growing crisis in general practice reflected pressure on junior doctors, citing conditions young doctors face as a reason why GP recruitment had slumped.

She welcomed support from across the NHS and the public sector to defend junior doctors and protect safe working conditions.